The Whitest Flame
by Hazelspirit
Summary: The name on my tag says Cheeto, but I hate that insulting kittypet name. My name is Whiteflame.


INTRODUCTION

I am a fighter. I always have been, and that's the way I expect things to always be. My collar? Doesn't mean anything to me. Sure, those Humans put out bowls of water and those horrible pellets, and they constantly gush over me…but I don't care for them. I prefer hunting birds and squirrels for my food, with the occasional treat from a Human in the neighborhood that I live in. Sure, I have an old, torn-up black collar, but I disregard that. Everyone does…or else.

The name on my tag says Cheeto, but I hate that insulting kittypet name. My name is Whiteflame.

PROLOGUE

An old, wooden door with a window swung open, to be followed by the soft _DING!_ of the bell that hung over the entryway. Instinctively, quite used to this by now, the young ginger-and-white kitten, only about 9 or 10 weeks of age, ignored the sound and carried on what he was doing: sneaking up on his completely ginger sister.

The tom kitten was hiding in the shadows of the large, silver cage that they had lived in for that last few weeks, ever since they were taken away from their mother. The tom kitten saw other cats, of all ages, in other cages around him. And everyday, Humans came in, looked at all the cats, and eventually took one or two out, and he never saw those cats again. Occasionally he smelled and odd scent, and heard a strange, somewhat frightening, loud noise that his mother had told him came from _dogs._ They were a bigger animal that cats, and we very dangerous. The tom kitten had believed his mother, although he'd never seen on himself. He felt that he didn't want to.

Still in the shadows, the ginger-and-white tom kitten crept forward, his eyes locked on his ginger sister, who was washing herself. He silently crept forward, and raised his rump in the air, about to pounce…

"Ughh!" the tom kitten cried, as something suddenly flung onto his back. He whipped around to see that it was his brown-and-white tabby brother had pounced on him before he could pounce on their sister.

"Gotcha!" the brown-and-white tabby tom exclaimed proudly, still pinning his brother down. The ginger she-cat then looked up.

"Toms," she muttered, shaking her head. "You two just always have too much energy for your own good, don't you? Do you ever wash yourselves? How do you expect to be adopted looking like _that_?"

The two brothers looked up from their play-fight and stared at their sister. The ginger-and-white tom spoke first. "What's…adopted?"

The ginger she-cat sighed impatiently. "Didn't mom ever tell you? Did you think we'd be living in this horrible cage forever?"

The two toms shook their heads slowly, and then the brown-and-white kitten spoke. "Wait…so you're saying we're going someplace else?"

"If you look like that, no," answered the ginger she-cat tartly.

"But…where will we go?" asked the ginger-and-white tom, ignoring his sister's comment.

"Back to mother…?" asked the brown-and-white tom hopefully. His sister sighed again.

"You are such a mama's kit," she meowed, licking her paw. "No, we aren't going back to mom, we're going to live with Humans."

She had said it so calmly, as if you knew it and was expecting it her whole life. But the ginger-and-white kitten's insides were churning. He'd heard cats talk about how cruel the Humans could be, how most hated cats…

The brown-and-white kitten spoke next, as if reading his brother's mind. "But…aren't Humans…evil?" he asked, whimpering a little.

At that, their sister sighed again, only this time more deeply. "Oh, grow up! Not all are bad to cats. Listen, the Humans look around at every cage, and take the cat they want to keep. Then they take care of that cat. That doesn't sound _evil_, does it?"

The ginger-and-white tom widened his eyes. "They actually take care of us? Like Mom?" he asked, interested and curious, but his brother looked very unconvinced.

"That's what they want you to think, that they're going to take care of you," the brown-and-white tom whispered. "Then they…skin you and use you as a fur coat! They're pure evil!"

"Be quiet, mousebrain!" meowed the ginger she-cat sharply. "They won't hurt you. And look, one's coming up now. Quickly – lick your fur!" She sat up straight and gave her chest fur a couple quick licks. "Look adorable!" she hissed.

They had experienced Humans looking at them before. Some had even held them, to which the brown-and-white tom hid in the corner, his eyes wide and his body trembling.

Now the brown-and-white tom had no time to scamper into the corner. His eyes wide and his fur un-licked, a Human hand opened the cage and reached for him. The ginger-and-white kitten tried to smile encouragingly to his brother, but he didn't look at him, he only stared at the Human as it picked him up, with overcoming terror etched on every part of his face. The ginger she-cat exchanged a glance with the ginger-and-white tom.

The ginger-and-white tom looked up at the Human hand, which was now scratching his brother behind the ears, and he watched in surprise as his brother's expression went from absolute horror to contentment, just like that. Finally, he was put back in the cage.

"Humans are great! I hope I get adopted soon!" was the first thing he said, and the ginger-and-white tom thought he heard his sister sigh again and mutter, "_Toms_," Then she went back to grooming.

"So, they're really that great?" The ginger-and-white tom asked his brother, as the brown-and-white tom furiously groomed his pelt.

"Yeah," he murmured through a tongue-full of fur, "You'd better get grooming."

"Wow. A real quick change of heart," muttered the ginger she-cat.

"I'll say," agreed the ginger-and-white tom, slightly unconvinced about Humans. But if he didn't trust them all the way, why he did he find himself hurriedly grooming himself with his siblings?

8888888

Three days had passed since the brown-and-white tom's encounter with the Human, and Humans had come and go, passing by their cage and occasionally picking one of them up. The three siblings constantly groomed their fur to perfection, and each day they waited faithfully for the arrival of Humans.

So then, on the third day, a Human stopped by their cage. All three kittens rushed forward, mewing. The Human reached in and grabbed the ginger she-cat. She purred and rubbed herself against the Human's hand. The Human cried out something to another, and two more came to pet the ginger kitten. Finally, the Human turned around, and walked away with her. The ginger she-cat gave one last look at her brothers, and called out, "Good-bye, my brothers! Take care of yourselves…and good luck! Until one day!" And then she was gone.

After that, the brown-and-white and ginger-and-white toms huddled in the corner of their cage, not bothering to greet Humans as they passed. They knew that they wouldn't likely see their sister ever again. The thought fazed them; they had always relied on her for her smartness. They knew they would never forget her…and they both hoped with all their might that they'd see her again one day.

The next day, another Human came, this time picking up the ginger-and-white tom. He let the Human scratch him behind the ears and he purred and rubbed against the hand. The Human called to another, one who was in the place a lot. They spoke in an unrecognizable language, and then the ginger-and-white kitten was whisked off, only able to squeak a surprised and slightly anguished, "Good-bye!" to his brother, and the last thing he saw of his brother was a look of sheer horror on his face.


End file.
